The Gift
by polybi
Summary: A Christmas story. Snow recieves a mysterious gift from an anyonmous giver. And ends up giving...and recieving...the best gift of all. Set not long after QOH.


_**This was the best I could do for the holiday on such short notice. I have always believed that Snow and Regina loved each other too much to kill each other...that's why they kept failing at it. And that if someway they could both put the past behind them...**_

_**Wishful thinking, I guess...**_

_**OUAT is owned by DIsney/ABC. This is fan fiction.**_

_**Happy holidays.**_

It was the first Christmas Day since it all happened. The smoke. Part of the curse breaking. The wraith. The rescue. Everything.

The first Christmas Day after all that. Now, in the days that followed, not much was said about the part that The Evil Queen played in returning Snow White and her daughter back to Storybrooke. There was a celebration afterwards, but either everyone forgot to invite Regina or maybe it was intentional. But once they realized the misstep, there were many guilty consciences around.

But there was not much contact with the former Mayor in those days. She kept pretty much to herself. There were, maybe a few half-hearted tries. Mostly from Emma, who for some reason was near being frantic trying to call Regina to say she was sorry. No answer.

Besides, it was almost Christmas. Happy thoughts, you know.

So it was Christmas day at the Blanchard/White apartment. 7 a.m. and everyone was up to see who was on Santa's good lists. It was a happy place around that tree. Henry scored plenty: football, a fishing set, a pair of Jordans. And there was a new XBox...complete with Madden '13. James got aftershave from Henry, a Gold watch from Emma, and a men's ring from Snow.

Emma's haul was pretty substantial as well: Mom and Dad gave a locket with a new family picture, Red slipped in a bottle of Courvoisier (Emma did not usually drink the harder stuff...but with this, she'd find an excuse), and Henry gave her a handmade card/

And for Snow: Emma gave her a ladies watch AND a box set of all the original seasons of Doctor Who. Henry gave her a box of chocolate, and Charming got her the biggest diamond ring she'd personally ever seen (straight from the mines). Then there was one box with no sender that caught Snow White's eye...all gold, including the ribbon. When she opended the box, it was beautiful...a crystal horse mounted on a crystal base.

No one knew who was able to slip that gift in. There was speculation...and suddenly Snow's face beamed, then sunk. She know who the sender was...and she felt almost criminally remorseful about the whole thing. And she wanted to do something about it.

Nothing was open on Christmas Day, officially. Snow played her I'm-the-Queen-when-and-if-we get-back card to get Mr. Gold to open his shop up at about 10 that morning. She tried to find she what was looking for, but alas, not only did she not find the exact item...and it has to be exact...she now owed Gold a favor. And she knows about Gold's favors.

Then, with Emma in tow, Snow played her my-daughter's-the-Sheriff to see if any of the the shopkeepers had the item the Queen-in-waiting sought. No soap.

Her last resort, play her And-my-daughter's-also-the-savior-complete-with-magic-card, and using the puppy-dog eyes that work so well in getting Charming to take out the trash most nights, she sweet talked Emma into helping her with her plan.

"You have the ability to do it, Em. I want you to look into my mind and see exactly what I am thinking." Which Emma did. Of course she had to bypass some of the visions she had of her dad...just admitting she looked at _those_ images could send her back to the pen. There were other trivial thoughts that came in Snow's head, but Emma finally found the image that Snow wanted her to find.

It was a sight that was beyond beautiful. Emma wished she could have something like that for herself. But that was not to be.

"Now Em, can you produce that...exactly...with magic?"

Emma was not that skilled with such things, even after the thing with Cora. Snow assured her daughter that if she couldn't do it, it would be alright. But with a little effort, Emma cupped her hands as if to receive something. Within moments, indeed, blue smoke emanated from Emma's hands and when the smoke cleared, the exact item that was pictured in the mind of Snow White was now physically in the hands of Emma Swan...just as beautiful as pictured.

Snow had further instructions, find a box to put it in, appropriate wrapping...and just one...more...thing...if she can conjure it up.

It was shortly after 1pm on Christmas day. If one were to look at the eyes of Regina Mills one would guess three things: a bit too little sleep, a bit too much cider, or way too much crying. The lucky person would be right if they scored the perfecta. But then there would be no one to guess. SInce the curse was shattered, more or less, the woman who created the town of Storybrooke was a pariah in her own creation. Some of it was deserved. And some of it...now one really cared anyway to ask that question. And Regina thought she knew the answer.

The former mayor just knew that this was the first year in 10 that the happy sound of a sugar-rush filled boy did not fill the mansion. Regina Mills was alone. And to her, no punishment for whatever she did do or was suspected of doing would be worse. There were thoughts that were running through her head. Eat and apple and go to sleep, for there would be no true love to wake her. Or walk to the city line and let that fate take her. But now she was too defeated to even do that.

It was then that a knock was heard on the front door. Maybe it was Swan, coming to engage in some yuletide argument, or maybe Viktor Frankenstein aka Dr. Whale come to end her life. At that point, she would have welcomed that. Anyway, Regina got up, hair frazzled, movements lethargic, got to the front door and opened it.

No one.

Empty street.

Nothing except...a box. A small box wrapped in shiny white paper with silver ribbon and a silver bow.

The first thing Regina thought as she picked it was that if she opened the box, it would explode.

But when she opened the package, and then the box, she found it.

An apple. A crystal apple. Translucent. With all the colors of the rainbow showing as light was cast through it. And then she knew who sent the apple.

It was hard for Regina Mills to have done what she did. Emotionally speaking. It was easy for Regina to magically pop in to the Blanchard apartment, set the gift down and pop out. But to give Snow that crystal horse...well, it may have been the closest she would come to anything like an apology for what she did.

But as Regina looked out of the window again, now holding the crystal apple, she saw a sight she was not prepared to see.

This time the street was empty, save for one person. Snow White. And it was not Snow in Mary Margaret mode, but Snow dressed exactly as she was the day she ate The Apple.

Regina went back to the door and opened it. The women looked at each other for the longest time. And then Regina saw Snow mouth two words.

"I'm sorry."

29 human years, and several skipped millennia of hatred and jealousy seemed to met at that moment. The only thing Regina could say was "thank you."

Smiles formed in two sets of quivering lips, then Snow White walked away, and Regina Mills stood in that doorway.

Both women had offered the other the gift of forgiveness. And for both, a new beginning may have been the greatest Christmas gift of all

FIN


End file.
